DataViz, Inc. announced its Documents To Go Professional Edition software will be bundled on the new Palm m500 series handhelds.

Palm, Inc. announced that it has acquired peanutpress.com, Inc., an ebook publisher and distributor of an extensive selection of ebooks for handheld computers.

CitySync, Lonely Planet’s digital city guide series, has been selected by Palm, Inc. as the featured travel guide for its PalmPak Travel Cards. Distributed by Palm for the new Palm m500 series handheld computers, the PalmPak Travel Cards will offer eighteen CitySync city guides across three configurations: Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific.

Palm, Inc. has issued a press release stating the company believes the lawsuit filed March 14, 2001, by NCR Corporation against Palm and Handspring Inc. has no merit. NCR alleged that Palm’s and Handspring’s handheld computers infringe two NCR-owned patents for a type of “portable personal terminal.” Palm was not approached by NCR about the patents prior to filing its suit.

Palm, Inc. today unveiled the Palm m500 series handhelds. Two new models–the Palm m500 monochrome handheld and the Palm m505 color handheld–feature a Secure Digital (SD) and MultiMediaCard expansion slot about the size of a postage stamp, a new Universal Connector for hardware add-on modules, and Internet connectivity software. Both handhelds feature a new Arctic Mist metallic silver color as well as a new, gentle curve form factor.

The m500 handheld, weighing four ounces, is scheduled to be available in the United States in late April for an estimated street price of $399. International availability is expected in May. The m505 handheld is scheduled to be available in the United States in May for $449. International availability is expected in June.

The Palm m500 series has a dual expansion architecture, meaning that besides the SD and MultiMediaCard expansion slot, it also features a new Universal Connector, which supports add-on modules. These new expansion technologies will be common across future Palm handhelds.

The m500 series handhelds offer a faster processor, the Dragonball VZ 33MHz. Both models have 4MB flash memory and 8MB of RAM. Both the m500 and m505 can be programmed for silent alerts. Users can choose between an audible alarm, a vibrate mode, or a blinking LED for notification of important events and messages. Also included are the Clock and Note Pad applications, first introduced in the Palm m100 series handhelds.

Free registration is required to read this New York Times article on the Pocket Printer A6, made by SiPix Inc., which works with handheld computers running version 3.0 or higher of the Palm operating system.

CNET News.com has an article on MobileAria. The company plans to have its voice-activated Internet service for the car available by midyear.

Recently we reported @stake published a security advisory regarding a security hole in Palm OS 3.x-based devices which would allow anybody in physical possession of the unit to retrieve and/or modify any information stored on the device by entering one of two shortcuts even if the device was locked. A new product called ShortFix has been developed to remove the offending shortcuts from the system, preventing anyone to enter the debug or console mode by using these shortcuts.

SimpleDevices announced the availability of the SimplePad development kit. SimplePad is a sled that clips onto any Palm V series PDA and turns it into a high-speed wireless LAN WebPad with full data synchronization. The development kit is packaged for developers and enterprise IT managers who want to develop applications for wireless handhelds.

CNET News.com reports NCR has filed a suit charging Palm and Handspring with infringing on patents, which NCR says it received in 1987, relating to handheld devices that perform financial transactions such as shopping via a communications network.